A variety of afflictions

How they got us into it: War on Iraq: a masterpiece of propaganda
--

See?

As Gary (Sick) describes the personality of Ahmydinnerjacket, I'm reminded of a certain G.Bush, resident of the Oval office. Does anybody know the Farsi for "Bring 'em on"?

I’m not the only one who has trouble saying Ahmadisomething-somethingnejad.

Although, I think if I were going to take this approach and phoneticize it, I would have chosen "Ahminadinnahjacket" and always make a point of saying it in a Southern gentleman's drawl.
--

Massive flooding you never heard of:

Torrential downpours over the last few months have caused major floods across Africa, submerging whole towns and washing away bridges, farms and schools. According to the United Nations, at least 1.5 million people in 18 countries have been affected by the worst downpours in 30 years, with hundreds of thousands of people displaced and nearly 300 killed.
The UN and aid agencies are concerned about a rising risk of disease outbreaks, particularly water-borne disease such as cholera and malaria.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have warned that a massive aid effort is needed. Niels Scott, operations coordinator for the Red Cross in Africa, said in a statement that emergency food, shelter and clean water supplies were needed, as well as pre-positioned stocks...

So far the disaster has received very little coverage in the western press, and calls for aid have been met with a muted response.

The extreme weather conditions have been blamed by some analysts on a phenomenon known as la Niña where oceans cool faster, thus causing the rainy season to come earlier. Lawrence Flint, a researcher for the Dakar-based NGO, Environmental Development Action in the Third World, says the extremes in temperature could have roots in global warming.

“People are having to cope with floods that are higher and bigger than they are used to, and people cope with periods of droughts that are bigger than they are used to. They cope with extremes of temperature—extremes of heat and extremes of cold. The weather is becoming unpredictable. It is the unpredictability aspect that is hitting people hardest,” Flint explained.

The weather is forecast to get worse, with heavier rainfall on the way in the coming weeks. Its full intensity is likely to be felt by mid-November in most regions and will only start to subside in mid or late December. Famine in many parts of the continent is forecast to go on up to 2009.

---